Band applying machine



Dem-28,1931 I c STRQUT 2,103,302

BAND APPLYING MACHINE Filed Feb. 24," 1934 7 Sheets-Sheet l De c.28, 193 7. Q 2,103,392

BAND APPLYING MACHINE Filed Feb. 24, 1954 7 sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Walk! 0- .09% QLMQLL ATTORNEY Dec. 28, 1937. f R. c. STROUT 2,103,302

BAND APPLYING MACHINE I Filed Feb 24, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR fl nk Q. jaw/u, @Mm

ATTORNEY Dec. 28, 1937. R. c. STROUT BAND APPLYING MACHINE Filed Feb. 24, 1934 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR 112 G. @M BYd M @Mclufl ATTORNEY De c. 28,1937;

R c. STROUT BAND APPLYING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Febf24, 1934 P w v c z 4 a M n w 6 6 2 m m .0 N. M L\ v P m r f my & F .1 27 \X Y N -J n 1 a a 2 \fi PM.

7w lg\ HF v III/,1 [H14 0 j a L 1 1 7 o W! in, u o 7 6 4 6 a W. 1 2 0 w w 2 5 IL 2 Y 13x28, 1937.: QSTROUT 2,103,302 I BAND Afi IQYme mAcnmg I Filed Feb. 24, 1934 7 Sheets -She et 6 INVENTOR 1 4.1 (9. Gun

ATTORNEY egas, 1931; q R. c.sTRouT- 10330 BAND APPLYING MACHINE v I Filed Feb. 24, 1934 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 A'ITORNEYI Patented Dec. 28, 1937 To i' m em gn eite'sfa wind e ih fei one object or hi name is 'to peptide a novel and highly "eflicie'nt machine for applying j bandsor sleeves to containers and .hy"\'1vhicli the banded containers,may. be producedin afrapid contributes'to and economical manner. t v he l- A Iurtherand more specific object o f the inventionis to provide anovel and emcient rnachine for applying, contractible bands or sleeves,

such as those of wet. regenerated cellulose, to the neck portions-of bottles'in order to provide the bottles with sealing} members shrunk inftightly fitting relation upon the neck thereof arid'oov'ering' at least a portion or the closure therefor so that the sealing band-is required to bevdestroyed in order to open the bottle.

,With these general objects in view and such others as; may hereinafter appear th'einvention consists in the band applying machine and in the various structures, arrangements' .and oombinations or parts hereinafter described'vajndjparhe chew- I ticularly defined in the claims at specification. I e a While the'diflerent features of the" a vention may be used with-advantage in-a. bandijapplying machine for the application, of various bands to different types 'ofcontainers, the invention is particularlyuseful-in the application of bands .or sleeves of wet regenerated; cellulose over I the top of filled and capped bottles and onto the "neck thereofin such a manner that when the band or sleeve dries it will'shrink into tightly fittedrelation upon the neck of the bottle ,eov nng; at least a portion of the closure and iormihg a sealing member which mustbe destroyed or brolren in order to open the bottle.

In the illustrated machine a supplyoi thewet regenerated cellulose, bands or sleeves in collapsed condition are preferably stored in-a magazine and provision is made for automatically withdrawing successivebands or' sleeves from the magazine; opening the same, and applying the open bands over the tops of successive'bottles in ner and tion of the caps or closures therefor;

' be produced Application retinal-v 24, 1934; Serial N =..1 1, ..;Q e cr z 80)- Fig'. 3' isa sectional plan view ot th machine takenon line 3 1:3 of Fig; 213F131 4 is1 aasectional fview-o'n line-4: 4 f Fi'gia-l'fishowing'i details .;of;ithe band feeding and applying mechanism;;1:FPlg,:;. 5 fis'a'detail view'fof the incominggconvieyoredrive ,"and band applying rne'chanismuin zoneiposition of operation Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail ishowingi; a band shrunk in position on thelneckportion v=of v the bottle andfo'ver the-"skirt ot thei cap; :Fig; '7 is a cross sectional' detail taken ODIiIiGFia-if'iflf Provision is also madefor automatically conveying' 'the bottles into bandapplyingpositionpreferably-by novel mechanism, as will be described; which' d elevationf 1 Fig. 4 illustrating the-Es'uctionl feeding mechanism ingmechanism fFlga- 951s a perspective:viewcof jthe controlfmechani's nrior preventing thegsuction f valve irom opening]; whenf-n'o bottle is ied to the band applying position? Fig. "10 is'- a detailiviewi.

' in "perspective of the suction valve and: stop mechanism; Fig; i 'i's"*a' perspective view. ofithe control mechanism for' controllingf thel movemer t traumas-rips: the: incoming conveyor; Fig.

for'the bands; Fig; Siis'a crosssectional view of! vt a t bm me VQ Ve' iOr the bandwieed- 12 is a "ffrontfl view? of} a "portion of "the 4 clutchmechani m 'forfopleratlng" the bottle" pushers miand appiymg .rnechanisrnj elevation of the band'applyink mechanisniiin po- ,sition .to enter a pa tiallv opened band or sleeve. Referring nowt thelidrawin gsfln the illustrated machine theliilled andj' cappedhottlesfare ied into the machine onanj incoming conveyor from which individual bottles are transferred ;;into d, pnl fispb it n nterm te he coming conveyor and aldischarge conveyor and under each of aplurality of baiid applying 1 E0 anismdispflsed ai' spaced v intervals alongmtlie in coming conveyon fl he' indivldual bands 110. be 7 applied are transferred :froin'ihdividual, magazines, oneyfor each band applying mechanism, by vacuum operated devices andthen Qpenedand, positioned over ;.the: bottle to he banded.p., litter the band has been applied to thebottle; the banded bottle .is transferred: to; the outgoing, conveyor an automatlc,*p osltive and highly emcient .man--. v into such positions that the bandsupon drying may shrink-into tightly fitt ng r'elation on the necksfo'r the h'ottles,'covering' atleastxa porto be dischargedzfrom the machine supporting a platen upon which the main operrom the incoming conveyor; I

The machine aisfllnolmted :upon leg members 2;

rating mechanisms or: themachine are mounted.

The driving "mechanism" for 1 driving; the various instrument'alities of Ithe machine'cis "mounted-heheath the platen 4' upon suitable shaftsj o'urnaled in-"bearings in the supportingslegsylw Thexdrlvthe efflciency or the-machine andthe raplditywithn' which the banded bottles' may" mg m echanismmay=-beidescribed asfiiollowsz: A

clutch pulley= 6 provided witha'any1suitable commercial' -form'- "of: clutch isimountedfito Lturn i-free on a sh'aft wwhen theclutch isgdisengagedzw: One bodiment th inventi n-F1 4 is e ffvationof themachine" l .60

" end 5 or; the -"shaft"8 fis' 'provided siwithi a thandwheel llHio lenable theniachinei'ito b i'turned byzhand the occas'ion may require. The pposite cured thereon arranged to mesh with a gear ll on the outer end of a main cam, shaft-l6 and the latter has mounted thereon all ofthe cams for performing the various operations of the machine, as will be described. The gear I2 is provided with a sprocket 20 secured thereto which .isconnected through a chain and sprocket 26 to a shaft '22 so that the shaft-is driven from the gear I2. The shaft 22 is provided with a plurality of sprockets II individually connected by chains 32 to sprockets 84 secured to the'ends of the shafts of a plurality of vacuum pumps of any usual or preferred construction and 'the'vacuum pumps are utilized, as will be described, to create the vacuum employed in transferring and opening the individual hands during the application thereof to the bottles.

Provision is also made forenabling an operator to control the machine from either end thereof and to this end the clutch is arranged to be operatediby an operating lever or handle 31 mounted upon an operating shaft 42 pivoted in a bracket 3! forminga part of the machine frame and the operating lever 31 is connected'by a link to a second operating handle I! secured .in Pig; 1. The shaft "is iournaled'ini a pair of brackets 39, 44 near the opposite ends thereof.

In the operation of the illustrated machine, a supply of filled and capped bottles is intermittently fed into the machine by an incomin conveyor III of any usual or preferred construction, herein shown as including a conveying chain I I4 arranged to run over the usual sprockets at each end thereof, one of which is shown at 2, mounted on a shaft Ill. The mechanism for intermittently operating the conveyor as herein shown includes a cam 2| having a cam path 23 cooperating with a cam roll 2! on a cam lever 21 fulcrumed on the shaft II. The outer end of the camlever 21 is connected to a rack 62. The rack 02' engages a pinion secured to the shaft 68 to eifect oscillation thereof.

The shaft 68 is rotatably supported in abearing Ill formed on the end of a bracket 12 fastened to the platen l of the machine. The oppositeend of the shaft I is supported-in ahe'aring 1 I8 formed in the bracket. ll also 'secured to the platen I. .A guide bracket 82 is provided to guide the rack 62 in its reciprocating motion and to hold it in engagement with the pinion Cl and is supported on shaft 68 by the hub ID. A ratchet I8 is attached to the hub of the pinion I. and. oscillates back and forth with it. A bevel gear 90 mountedfreeto turn ontheshaft "is provided with two spring pressedl'pawls 22 pivotaliy mounted on the back thereof and in position to engage the teeth of the ratchet. It will thus be observed by reference to Fig. 5 that on the upward stroke of the rack 82, the pawls '22 run free over the ratchet teeth]! and on the downward stroke of the rackl2 the pawls l2 engage with the teeth of the ratchet II and revolve the bevel gear ",fland the latter in turn'revolves a cooperating bevel gear IIO. The bevel gear Ill isprovidedwithasproekizt I82 attachedtothe' shaft Ill. The shaft III-i8 mounted to'turn inabearingbracket lllattachedtotheplaten lofthemachine. Thesprochetillseemedto theendof'theshaftill,clearlyshownin'l'ig.2, I

end of the shaft leis provided with ageai- I2 sesupports one end of and drives the conveyor,

chain III of the conveyor II so that during the operation of the machine the bottles are conof these bottles is transferred by an individualset of mechanisms, including a first pusher for moving the bottle transversely of the machine from the incoming conveyor to a position in front of a second pusher, and the'latter operates to move the bottle rearwardly and longitudinally of the machine to the band applying position. To

prevent jamming of the machine or breakage of the bottles, provision is made for permitting the starting of the first transverse pushers only when the foremost bottle in the line on the incoming conveyor .is properly positioned against a stop member located'in the path of travel of the bottles at the inner end 'of the conveyor. This stop member comprises a movable rod I20, one end of which is slidably mounted' in a bearing I22 attached to-the machine frame, the outer end thereof being "fastened by a swivel connection Hi to the end of a lever I28 keyed to the top of a shaft I28 rotatablv'supported at its upper end in a bracket I29, and at its lower end in a bracket I8I attached to the platen I and leg' 2, respectively. Provision is made for normally maintaining the stop rod!!! in an inward direction toward the approaching bottles, herein shown by a spring I", one end of which is fastened to a spring stud I32 in the frame of the machine, and the other end of which is attached to an adjustable threaded pin I" having a screw adjustment nut III on the outer end thereof for varyi the. tension of the spring- The pin Ill is'guided in the swivel block III at the outer end of an arm I secured to the shaftill. A lever. I" isattaehed to the lower end of the shaft I28, the outer end of which is connected to one arm I" of-a bell crank mounted free to turn on a stud I52 secured'in the machine frame. A

itsouterendwithadisengagingaclutch dog Illonthe cam." when abottle on the incoming conveyorhss moved the rod ill to the le'ft,-as shownin Fig. 11; The cam I2 which operates the first pusher to move the bottles from the incoming conveyor- II is free on the camshaft it unless coupled with a cooperating clutch'member which is keyed to the ing. The dog Iilisslidably mountedinagroove in the hubof the cam 82 and is normally forwardbyasprina l|l. Theendll2-ofthed08 engages-with a slot I" in a disc "I keyed to the shaft II. 'It' will thus be-seen that when the againsttheendofthe 7 HI,

I02 on anarm Ill pathaftravel of the-dog I, as dottedlineinflmlgandtheeamll Aspringpressed friction shoe I'll slidably mountedinabracketlllsecuredtothemachine Zsecond arm III of the bell crankis provided on member "2 for frameisprovidedtoprusagainsttheoutersur faceofthecamlltocheckthemomentumwhen .15

the cam is disengaged from the driving member I16 and similarly, a friction member I82 provided with leather friction lining I84 is so located as to bear against the rear surface of the cam 52, further assisting in checking the momen- :tum of the cam 52 when disengaged.

As previously pointed out. in the illustrated machine, three bottles at a time are selected from the. incoming conveyor, transferred to the three band applying stations where the bands are applied; and thereafter discharged onto'the outgoing conveyor to be conveyed from the machine, and since all three mechanisms for transferring the bottles and applying the bands thereto are alike in construction and mode of operation, a description of one mechanism will suflice for all three. Referring now to Fig. 3, the pusher members 200 are slidably mounted in the platen 4 of the machine, being retained in position by gibs 202 and'operated back and forth from a shaft 204 to which the pushers are connected by means of arms 206 and hubs 208 and pins I90, l9l. The shaft 204 is rocked by the cam 52 on the shaft 16 to which it is engaged by a clutch mechanism previously described. A cam lever H8 is provided with a cam roll I82 intermediate the ends thereof which cooperates with a cam path 223 on the cam 52. The outer end of the lever.2l8 is connected by means of a connecting rod I04 to the outer end of a lever I95 secured to the shaft 204. After each bottle is transferred from the incoming conveyor 50 by a pusher 200, it is positioned'in front of a sliding pusher member 2l0 whichis arranged to slide longitudinally of the machine to transfer each bottle to the band applying position. Each pusher 2! is mounted upon a slide member 2l2 having dovetail sliding grooves 2l4 arranged to slide in similar grooves on a bracket 2l8 mounted upon the platen 4. The slide 2l2 is operated by a cam 220- secured to the cam shaft l6 and the cam 220 is provided with a cam groove 22f cooperating with a cam roller 222 mounted on one end 224 of a cam lever fulcrumed on the shaft 80. The other end 228 of the cam lever is connected by a link 228, pins 230, 232 to a swivel connection 23% pivotally connected by a pin 288 to the end of one arm 64!) of a bell crank lever. The other arm 642 of the bell crank is connected bymeans of a connecting rod 646 to the slide 2l2. It will thus be seen that as the cam 220 revolves withthe main cam shaft IS, a reciprocating motion is imparted to each pusher 2), which effects the transfer of the bottles received from the pushers 200, to the band applying positions. Each pusher 2l0 is also provided with a guide member 28f to aid in holding or maintaining the bottles in line on the incoming conveyor. A guide member 235 is also attached to the opposite end of each pusher 2l0 to act as a guide for the bottles on the outgoingconveyor. v

In the operation of the machine as each of the three bottles being transferred is moved in a rearward direction longitudinally of the machine by the second pushers 2"! to the band applying position, each bottle is positioned in front of a third and transversely operating pusher 240, and the bottle is held firmly between the longitudinal pusher H and the transverse pusher 240 while the band is being applied. It will be observed by reference to Fig. 3 that both the pushers 2 I0 and 240 are angularly formed, each having two opposed angular sides so that when the bottle is in the band applying position 2, it is held firmly in a hollow square formed by the angular, sides of the pus hers: plied toeach of the three bottles, the pusher 248 acts to transfer eachbottle from the band'applying position .2 onto the outgoing conveyor The pusher 240 is supported on a slide member 'After the band has been ap-' 242 slidingly supported in a bracket 244 which v is secured to the platen 4. The slide member 242 1 is reciprocated by. means of a connecting rod 248,

connected to the slide' by a pin 248, the other .end of the connecting rod being attached to aleverv 250 secured to a rocking shaft 252 supported in the brackets 258. The shaft 252 has a rocking motion imparted to it through a lever 284 secured to the shaft .252, and through a lever 258 secured to the shaft 204, and which is connected to the lever 254 by a connecting link 288 andpins 28L It will thus be seenthat the cam 82 which rocks the shaft 204 and operates the first pushers 200 also operates the pushers 240 at the same time. Attached to the top portion of the pusher 240 are yielding guide members 284 and 268 which are provided to steady the neck of the bottle while the band is being applied. The guiding member 264 is rigidly attached to the top of the pusher 240 while the portion 288 is vyleldingiy mounted to turn on a pin 288 and a spring 210 attached to the two members serves to normally hold them in yielding contact with the neck portion of the bottle just below the band as the pusher 240 pushes the bottle onto the outgoing conveyor. A stop screw 2 held in the bracket 243 attached to the machine frame is positioned to contact with the end 245 of the member 268 releasing the neck of the bottle so that the bottle may be carried along by the outgoing conveyor 5|. I

After each of the aforesaid three bottles has been transferred to the band applying station, provision is made for withdrawing a collapsed tubular band or sleeve from the bottom of a vertical stackthereof supported in a magazine 280, and for transferring each band from the horizontal position in which it is withdrawn to a verand are supported at the bottom thereof by small projecting fingers 282 in such manner that the lowermost band maybe readily removed and the remaining bands retained within the mags.- zine. One band withdrawing and transferring device indicated generally at 280 ismounted to rock in a bearing in a hub 283 formed on a horizontal slide member 284. A plurality of tubes 2" have attached to them 'at their outer ends a flat suction plate 288 and their inner ends are secured to the hollowsleeve 282. The suction plate isprovided with a plurality of openings or ports communicating with the tubes 28! and the latter magazine may be drawn into contact with the suction plate, as illustrated in Fig. "'l. The hollow communicate with the interior of the hollow sleeve 282 is connected with the'suction pump 4 through pipe connections 281, suction control valve 288 and connecting'pipes 288, and through a connecting elbow 285. A vertical reciprocatory motion is imparted to the band feeder 288 by a cam 800 keyed to the main cam shaft l4 and provided with a'cam path 802 cooperating with a camroll 804 on a cam lever 808 pivotally supported on the shaft 88, the outer end of the cam slot 388. The second end of the connecting rod 384 is connected to a vertical slide 3l8 through a pin 3| 2. The vertical slide 3" is slidably mounted in a bracket 3l8 which in turn is fastened to and supported on a bracket 3" attached to the platen 4. The vertical slide 3l8 is retained in sliding position by suitable gibs 388. Attached to the lower end of the slide 3l8 is a horizontal slide bracket 322 which forms a sliding support for the slide member 284 upon which the band feeder 288 is mounted. The slide 284 is retained in sliding position bya gib 348 attached to the member 322.- A horizontal sliding motion is imparted to the slide 284 by means of a link 388, one end of which is connected to the slide by a pin 352 fastened to a hub 384. A slot 388 is provided in the bracket 322 to permit the reciprocatory motion of the hub 384 therein. The second end of the connecting rod 388 is connected toa lever 318 mounted free to swing on a pin 312 attached to the vertical slide 318. A connecting rod 314 is pivotally connected at one end to the lever' 318 by a pin 318, and at the other end to one arm 318 of a bell crank lever by a pin 388. The outer end of the second arm 382 of the bell crank lever is connected by a link 384 to a lever 388 secured to a shaft 388 by connecting pins 388. The shaft 388 is rocked by a cam 388 secured to the main cam shaft 18 and having a cam path 388 cooperating with a cam roller 488 supported on a cam lever 482 pivotally mounted on the shaft 88. The cam lever 482 is operatively connectedto a lever 488 secured to the shaft by a connecting rod 488. 4

From the above description it will be observed that as the band feeder slide 284 is moved to the left, viewing Fig. 4, the band feeder 288 is caused to rotate in a counterclockwise direction to bring the collapsed band from a horizontal to a vertical position. This rotation is effected by a cam 4l8 attached to a bracket 322 through contact with a roller 2 carried on an arm 4 secured to the sleeve 282.

Provision is made for applying suction to the. band feeder at the time in the operation of the machine, when the suction plate 288 is in contact with the lowermost band in the magazinacausing the same to be removed therefrom and held upon the suction plate 288 until the applying device operates to place it on the bottle. To this end, the valve 288 is formed in a bracket 28! attached to the platen 4 and comprises a rock-- ing shaft 283 having a valve port 284 adapted to be rocked by a lever 238 fastened to the outer end of the valve shaft 283 and connected by a connecting rod 281 to one arm 288 of a bell crank 38l pivotally mounted on the shaft 88. The other arm of the bell crank 38! is provided with a cam roll 383 cooperating with an open cam 388 secured to the main cam shaft i8. It will' thus be seen that the maintenance of suction at the suction plate 288 is so controlled by the valve 288 that suction is applied when the suction plate 288 contacts with the lowermost band in the magazine and is maintained to hold the band thus removed until it is delivered to the band applying device hereinafter to be described.

Provision is further made for assisting the removal of the band from the bottom of the magszine by the band feeder 288 and for opel l lm the band to facilitate the entry of the applying mechanism for applying the band to the bottle neck at the band applying position. As herein shown, air is supplied under pressure from any convenient external source of supply through a pipe 3|8 to an air jet or. nozzle 3" attached to an arm 3|8 fastened to the horizontal slide bracket 322 and so positioned that when the suction plate 288 comes in contact with the lowermost band in the magazine, a jet of air will be projected against the edges of the bands in the lower portion of the magazine tending to separate them. In addition, tubes 3| I, 3l3 having nozzle-like ends 32| are positioned to direct an air jet into a band held by the suction plate to open the band. The tubes 3, M3 are attached to and rotate with the sleeve 282, being joined together at their lower ends and connected to a pipe 323, and the latter is connected with the air pressure supply pipe 318. It will thus be seen that when a band is held by suction upon 'the suction plate 288, a jet of air will be projected from the pipes 3", M3 against the end of the collapsed band or sleeve tending to cause it to be opened.

After the band or sleeve has been moved into band applying position as shown in Fig. 5, a

second suction member is caused to engage the opposite or free surface of the band to assist in opening it into tubular form and to thereby enable the applying mechanism to enter the band and apply it to the neck of the bottle. This second suction member comprises suction tubes 438 and 432 attached to a hollow sleeve 434 rotatably mounted on an arm 438. The end of the hoilow sleeve 4341s connected to the suction pump 28 through pipes 838, a valve 448, and the pipes.

6 and 288. The. valve 448 is the. same in construction as the valve 288 above described, being operated to open and close the suction line in proper timed relation, by means of a cam 442 attached to the shaft l8, acting upon a cam roll 444 mounted on the end of an arm 448 of a bell crank lever 448 pivoted on the shaft 88. The second end of the bell crank lever 448 is connected by means of a connecting rod 488 to a valve operating arm 452 whichoperates the valve 448.

Referring now to Fig. 5, the arm 438 which carries the hollow sleeve 434 and the suctionmembers 438, 432 is mounted to swing freely on a stud 438 fastened in the bracket M8. The tubular sleeve 434 is mounted to turn in the lower end of the arm 438 having at one end thereof an arm 48I. The outer end of thearm III is connected by a link 483'to a fixed stud 484 secured to the bracket 8. An arm 488 formed as a part of the upper portion of the arm 438 is connected by an adjustable connecting rod 488 to the outer end of an arm 488 secured to a shaft 482. The connecting rod 488 is provided in its upper end with an adjusting slot 488 with which a clamping bolt 488 in the end of the arm 488 ccoperates, to adiustablyclamp the upper end of the connecting rod 488 with the arm 488. The lower end 'of the connecting rod 488 is pivotally connected to the arm 488 by a pin 418 so as to provide a substantially straight-line horizontal motion to the suction members 438, 432, as the latter are moved into and from the band applying station. The shaft 882 has a rocking motion imparted to it by a cam 41l secured to the shaft l8,andthe'camhssacampath4'l2co-' 421 fast on a shaft 425.

operatiiig with a roller 411 located intermediate the ends of a lever455 pivoted on the shaft 60. The outer end of the lever 455 is connected by a connecting rod 615 to the outer end of the lever mounted at one end in a hub 403, on an arm 405 The wires 40! are positioned with their upperends formed on the lower part of a bracket 401.

arranged in a circle and so that normally the lower ends. will converge together to form a substantially pointed end. A sliding collar 409 is provided with a ring of holes spaced to correspond with the spacing of the wires 4M and through which the wires 40! project in freely sliding relation. The sliding collar 409 is mounted on the end of a rod 4" arranged to slide through the hub 403 and the bearing "3 of the bracket 401. The upper end of the rod 4 is secured to a sliding bracket 415 in a -yielding manner, and is provided with a collar 411 secured thereto. A compression spring 419 encirclingthe rod 4 is interposed between a collar 42l secured to the rod dll and the bracket 415. The

latter is arranged, toslide on a slide member 423 secured to the machine frame and is operated through a connecting rod 525 connecting the sliding'bracket M5 'to' the outer end of an arm The shaft 429 has imparted to it a rocking motion by a cam 43! provided with a campath 433 cooperating with a roll 535 located intermediate the ends of a lever 4131 pivotally mounted on the shaft 50. The

outer end of the lever 431 is connected by a connecting rod 439 to the outer end of an arm 44I secured to the shaft 429. It will thus be seen, that as the head 409 is moved downwardly fromthe position shown in Fig. 14 to that-shown in Fig. 4, the spring wires-401 will be caused to straighten out or expand and thus expand and round out the band into which they extend so that the opened band will slide over the neck of the bottle. The head M19 not only acts as a spreader for. the wires $01, but also acts as a pusher for the end of the expanded band 1403 to force it from the wires 50! and onto the neck of the bottle, and upon drying the band H103 shrinks into the position illustrated in Fig. 6.

' Provision is made .5. :raising and lowering the bracket .401which upports and positions the.

feeder before the expanding collar 4B9 begins to move to expand the band and push it onto the bottle neck. Referring to Fig. 14, the bracket 651 slidably mounted on the slide bar 423 is operated through a ,eonnecting rod 445 pivotally connected to the shde 4301 by a pin 441, and adjustably connected to the outer end of an arm 449 secured to a shaft 55 i. The latter is rocked by means of a cam 653 secured to the main cam shaft B6. The cam 653 is provided with a suitable cam path 615 cooperating with aroller 451 located intermediate the ends of a cam lever 459 pivoted on the shaft 60, the outer end of said lever being connected by a connecting rod 451 to the outer arm of a lever 463 secured to the shaft 85 I I Provision is made for controlling the feedin of the bands in accordance with the transfer of a bottle from the incoming conveyor by the pusher-200 to the end that when no bottles are transferred, no bands will be fed. This mechanism comprises a finger 50! mounted on the upper end of a shaft 503 and normally-caused to remain in the path'of travel of a bottle by a spring 505. The latter is connected to the outer end of an arm 501 secured to the shaft 503 and a spring stud 50'8 secured in the bracket 5l0 mounted on the machine frame. An adjustable stop screw 5l2- located intermediate the arm 501 bears.

against a portion of the bracket 510 and serves to properly position the finger 5M. The shaft 503 is journaled in bearings 516 at the top of the bracket 5l0. The lower portion of theshaft is journaled in bearings 588 formed on the lower portion of the bracket 5l0. A latching am 520 secured to the lower end of the shaft 503 is normally held in looking engagement with an arm 522 secured to the valve shaft 293, of the valve 288 and thus prevents the valve from opening to supply suction to the suction plate 286 of the band feeder 200. when, however, a bottle is pushed from the incoming conveyor 50 by the pusher 200, it contacts with the finger 50! and swings the arm 520 out of engagement with the arm 522 allowing the valve to open and permitting the band feeder 280 to operate-and remove the lowermost bandfrom the magazine 250'. The cam 305 for operating thevalve 288 is an open cam and the roller 303 is normally held against the face of the'cam by a spring 525, one

end of which is attached intermediate the ends of the arm the other end being fastened to a bracket 528. I

While certain features of the invention are particularly designed for use in the automatic application of bandsfof wet regenerated cellulose to the necks of bottles, nevertheless, it is not desired to limit the use of the invention thereto,

as other bands may be applied to other forms of containers.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

. 1. In a machine for applying a contractible sleeve to the neck of a bottle to form a seal for the cap comprising means for engaging and holding the sleeve in an open position, an expansible member insertable into the sleeve thus held, bottle supporting means for supporting a bottle in operative position with relation to the sleeve ai plying mechanism, and means for moving thesleeve from the expansible member onto the neck of the bottle over thecap and into a position. where aportion thereof overlies the skirt portion pusher member arranged to reciprocate longitu dinally between said conveyors for moving suc- I cessive articles out of the path of the first pusher member and into a position to be operated upon by said operating mechanism, and means for transferring successive articles after they have been operated upon by the operating mechanis onto the outgoing conveyor.

3'. The combination with an incoming conveyor, of an outgoing conveyor spaced therefrom, operating mechanism located between the conveyors, and transferring mechanism for transferring successive articles from the incoming conveyorinto a position to be operated upon by the operating mechanism and then onto the outgoing conveyor, said mechanism including a pusher arranged to reciprocate transversely of the incoming conveyor, a second pusher arranged to move the article out of the path of the first pusher and into operative relation to said operating mechanism, and a third pusher reciprocating transversely of the outgoing conveyor for moving the article onto the outgoing conveyor.

4. The combination with an incoming conveyor, of an outgoing conveyor spaced therefrom, operating mechanism located between the conveyors, and transferring mechanism for transferring successive articles from the incoming conveyor into a position to be operated upon by the operating mechanism and then onto the out-v going conveyor, said mechanism including a pusher for moving the article from the incoming conveyor to a position intermediate the conveyors, a second pusher arranged to move the article longitudinally between said conveyors into a position to be operated upon by the operating mechanism, and a third pusher arranged to cooperate with the second pusher to assist in holding the article at the operating'station and for transferring the article from such station onto the outgoing conveyor afterthe article has been operated upon.

5. The combination with an incoming conveyor, of an outgoing conveyor spaced therefrom, operating mechanism located between the conveyors, and transferring mechanism for transferring successive articles from the incoming conveyor into a position to be operated upon by the operating mechanism and thence onto the outgoing conveyor, said transferring mechanism including a pusher member arranged to reciprocate transversely across the incoming conveyor, conveying means for conveying successive articles from the position into which they are moved by said pusher into operative relation to the operating mechanism, and means for thereafter transferring the articles from the operating station to the outgoing conveyor, said conveying means and the last mentioned transferring means cooperating to hold the article at the operating station. I

6. In a machine for applying a banding sleeve to a container, in combination, mechanism for feeding successive sleeves from a bulk supply thereof, mechanism for opening said sleeve, mechanism for delivering successive containers into a position belowa sleeve thus opened inover'the upper end of the container thus posi-.

tioned to thereby apply the sleeve to the container, and mechanism for transferring the container from such sleeve applying position onto the outgoing conveyor.

7. In a machine for applying a banding sleeve to a container, in combination, means for operatively supporting a container, suction means for engaging and holding a banding sleeve, said suction means assisting in opening the sleeve, an expansible member, means for moving the same to introduce the expansible member to within the sleve and for thereafter effecting expansion of the member to open the same, and means cooperating with the sleeve for moving it relative to said expansible member to apply the sleeve onto the container over an end thereof.

8. In a machine for applying a banding sleeve to a container, in combination, means for operatively supporting a container, a magazine for holding a bulk supply of collapsed sleeves, means for withdrawing successive sleeves from said magazine including a movable suction member-L the container, a magazine for storing a bulk supply of collapsed sleeves, means for withdrawing successive sleeves from the magazine ineluding a movable suction member for withdrawing a sleeve from the magazine and positioning it over the container to which it is to be applied, means for eflecting the opening of the sleeve while the latter is held by said suction member including a second and opposed-suction member, for cooperating with the opposite portion of the sleeve, means for directing an air jet into the interior of the sleeve and an expansible member adapted to be inserted into the-sleeve to coming conveyor to operative position. with respect to the band applying mechanism including a pusher arranged to reciprocate transversely oi the incoming conveyor, and a feeler member operated by pressure exerted by the line of containers on the incoming conveyor for control the operation of said pusher.

11. In a machine for applying banding sleeves to containers, in combination, an incoming conveyor, a plurality of band applying mechanisms disposed in spaced relation along said conveyor,

means for efiecting the transfer of containers from the incoming conveyor to said several d applying mechanisms including a plurality of spaced pusher members reciprocating transversely of the incoming conveyor at spaced intervals along the length thereof, a feeler adapted to be operated by the pressure of the line of containers being conveyed by the incoming conveyor, and connections between the feeler and the several pusher members for controlling the operation of the latter, said feeler having provision whereby its operation may be adjustable to respond to different pressures.

' RALPH C. STROUT. 

